Campus News

Mount Mary continues to inspire Milwaukee Fashion Week designers

Among the city’s fashion enthusiasts, Milwaukee Fashion Week is an annual display
that showcases the city’s vibrant culture of style. Over the course of three days,
30 designers and their creative vision shine in the spotlight.

This year, Mount Mary’s fashion professionals presented a strong showing. Nearly half
of this year’s designers were Mount Mary alumnae; many of the behind-the-scenes volunteers
involved were Mount Mary students and alumnae as well.

“I was very proud to see MMU Fashion Design alums showcase their work, and also to
have so many fashion students participate in the show, by modeling, ushering or dressing,”
said Sarah Eichhorn, interim chair of Mount Mary’s fashion department, who attended
the show on Thursday evening.

“All of our participating students made me very proud that night,” said fashion merchandising
faculty member Patricia Kuehnl, who was also at Thursday’s show.

Held at the Wisconsin Athletic Club, the seats were filled and on some nights, there
was standing-room only. The show covered a wide range of styles, sizes and ages, from
the graphic prints of Victor Designs by Tori Sterr ’16 to the crisp red pleats of
Duyen Nguyen ’17.

“The attention to detail of the Mount Mary alumnae and their passion for designing
don’t go unnoticed,” said Eichhorn. “We want the greater Milwaukee community to continue
to recognize Mount Mary for the industry standards and creativity we instill in our
students.”

We want the greater Milwaukee community to continue to recognize Mount Mary for the
industry standards and creativity we instill in our students.

Sarah Eichhorn

Interim chair of Mount Mary’s fashion department

Launching her career

Bavlnka ’14 premieres fashion line at Milwaukee Fashion Week

I’ve always wanted to be a fashion designer, and what I learned at Mount Mary gave
me the technical skills I needed to execute my designs.

Laura Bavlnka ‘14

With her designs featured at Milwaukee Fashion Week, Laura Bavlnka ’14 chose this
as her moment to officially launch her fashion line.

The emerging entrepreneur saw Milwaukee Fashion week as a fitting opportunity to launch
her self-produced label, BAVLNKAbrand, both in greater Milwaukee area and online.

“I want to start my own business and Milwaukee Fashion Week was a great place to start
showing a collection.”

Bavlnka, who presented seven different looks for her debut, is passionate about detailed
handwork in the surface design and construction of her garments. Every one of her
pieces in the collection was hand-finished, self-dyed, embroidered or hand-painted,
often in combination with more than one of these elements.

Everything she’d done up to this moment could be traced back to her earliest dream,
and the place that gave her the ability to make it possible.

“I’ve always wanted to be a fashion designer, and what I learned at Mount Mary gave
me the technical skills I needed to execute my designs. (My education) has allowed
me to be proud of the work I’ve showed here today.”